Friday, December 28, 2012

Christine McVie came briefly out of retirement to talk about her work on Fleetwood Mac’s classic 1977 Rumours album. McVie, who quit the band in 1998, told Mojo that when Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the band in late-1974, she immediately knew she had to step up her game, explaining, “When Stevie and Lindsey joined I was in awe of the way they wrote and sang together. It was tough to compete and be good enough. I wasn’t a prolific writer to any degree. I didn’t start writing songs properly until I joined Fleetwood Mac. I was quite a novice on (1972′s) Bare Trees and (1971′s) Future Games.”

When asked if she was in touch with her former bandmates, McVie said: “I am in touch with (ex-husband) John (McVie) very often. Stevie and Lindsey not so often.”

She spoke about the weird situation of finally catching a Fleetwood Mac concert as an audience member, joking, “I have a really good time when I go. I can stand at the soundboard and watch them sweat. They do my songs, ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘World Turning,’ but they are limited to what they can do of mine. I think they tried ‘You Make Loving Fun,’ but I don’t think the sound of their vocals were right. But I wish them well.”

In 2003 Christine McVie says that after attending a then-recent Fleetwood Mac concert in London, she had no regrets about splitting from the band and leaving the road behind: “I just felt kind of relieved, if you want to know the truth, ’cause I, I went backstage afterwards, and they were all so tired, and, I just don’t think I could do that anymore. It’s kind of, if you like, verified that I’d made the right decision.”

Fleetwood Mac will release two expanded versions of Rumours on January 29th, featuring a remastered version of the multi-platinum collection, along with two discs of outtakes, and a new “making of” documentary. Both available to pre-order on Amazon or iTunes.

The band — featuring Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie — kicks off its 34-date North American tour on April 4th at Columbus, Ohio’s Nationwide Arena. Tickets available at Ticketmaster

Christine's remarks can be found in the January, 2013 edition of Mojo Magazine.

48 comments:

Joseph Gould
said...

Are there any new photos of Christine to go with this? This is amazing! Maybe this little 'appearance' in the media will be the first of more to come? Perhaps Christine is to some degree missing being a part of the band - seeing as she has stepped out of her solitude to speak about it..

*Christine McVie has such talent & a beautiful soul... Many people I've talked to are reluctant to go to a FM concert because she's not there. She is so greatly missed !! Would she consider an occasional guest appearance? :D

As Lindsey said recently, she didn't have to burn as many bridges as she did. I suspect that there's some really murky water between Christine and Lindsey. I wish she'd join them in their studio work, she's never really liked performing on stage, so why do it? I wish she'd work with them in the studio, make great Fleetwood Mac music and the rest can perform whatever they can on stage - as they do now without Chris.

They're all grown up now, I just wish they'd make grown up decisions and get Christine back. I hate the thought that Stevie and Lindsey don't speak with her much - maybe she does want to come back but feels unwanted and worse yet, not needed.

In DESTINY RUILES, Stevie very frankly states that they badly wanted her on SAY YOU WILL, but it just wasn't going to happen. I'm sure Christine feels wanted, how couldn't she? Lindsey said Christine proposed that she be on the SAY YOU WILL record, but couldn't be persuaded to tour. The band - then reviving their recording career, which ended in 1987 and seeking to re-establish their identity as current musical artists, thought this wasn't a viable idea for many reasons. Now it seems to make more sense, and you bet your hoosie-whatsis that Stevie would get on board VERY FAST to the prospect of a new Fleetwood Mac record with Christine on it.

Is there any reason Christine *wouldn't* do an ALBUM? The tracks can be sent to her in England and we all know she has a big recording studio in a converted old barn there. Then they do a big photo shoot and simply Photoshop Chris into the pictures (almost every band does this, as bands RARELY record records together in the same room nowdays). She doesn't have to tour...her vocals could easily be sampled. They make it sound so hard and it's NOT. Lindsey would come up with a big reason why it couldn't (or shouldn't) work - Stevie would be nodding her head seemingly knowingly about it all. It's not a big deal to put the STUDIO version of FM back together. If Chris doesn't want to tour she doesn't have to - she'll just make about 95% less than the band makes lol. But since she sold the rights to her songs she probably doesn't care - she doesn't get paid for them anymore anyway.

Like most Fleetwood Mac fans I couldn't imagine the Mac going on after Christine left in 1998. But she ain't comin' back and as Paris Hilton would say "I'm over it". I miss her still, but Stevie and Lindsey have enough stage presence to fill a concert and then some. And I don't really even want to hear from Christine about why she left and why she won't return. She can just stay in England and become more obscure than she already is.

I miss Chris but, if she doesn't want it and the article confirms she doesn't then I don't want her there. Stevie and Lindsey have enough material to tour and record without her. Theirs were always my favorite songs anyways.

In any event, I don't understand this decades-long obsession with her looks. The fact that she painted the Kiln House album cover, and spent 40 years as blues's and rock's keyboard goddess, should be enough. She's been professional artist; keyboardist; singer with the unique, honey voice; songwriter. That's enough to cover 20 talented careers. Like me, she struggled with her weight in her youth, but overcame that to have a svelte figure throughout her adulthood. She's earned her retirement, and I wish her well.

"Speaking" equals coming out of retirement? So, once someone retires, they don't even speak, they're mute? If ''only'' my father knew this!

Christine is still retired from Fleetwood Mac. She spoke to a Mojo magazine writer about the 1977 album. Years and years of supposedly being unable to speak at all when she feels like it because she was 'retired' ended when she gave an interview? It means that she came out of retirement? Weird.

In general to me Fleetwood Mac is never the same without Christine. I have been to concerts in the past but it's like a big ego trip just watching who is more overpowering than the other. Call me olfashioned but old FM music is still the best. Still trying to get into In Your Dreams CD .

To those who don't know why Christine was not part of SYW and won't be part of any future albums: Mick said in an interview that she is not willing to tour and it makes no sense to have her on an album (in case a song of hers became a hit) if she won't tour.

She, according to the same interview, wanted to record SYW but was not welcome to only work on the record and pass on the tour.

Christine is almost 70 years old - she wants a quiet life. I'm onky 47 and I want that already!

kinda snarky of chris to imply for all to infer that stevie and lindsey can't handle 'you make loving fun' live now, without her. christine was a good vocalist in the studio but live, her voice hit more bad notes than stevie and lindsey ever did, combined.

stevie and lindsey should make 'you make loving fun' the opening song in the set!

maybe not snarky, maybe just british, don't forget she said stevie loved all of the songs that stevie writes, ''even though some of them are rubbish".

stevie and lindsey could do a great 'loving fun'- chris NEVER sung the lead, live, terribly well- stevie and lindsey filled out the song.

She seems to have ill well over some stuff. That's to bad. I thought Stevie & her kept in contact, alot. I'll always love her and good for her on her retirement but like someone mentioned the word 'snarky', she comes accross that way in this interview.

Judging mainly by interviews I've read and comments Stevie, Mick and Lindsey have made - I believe Christine misses Fleetwood Mac (studio work) and her fear of being on stage is the biggest issue. The fact that Stevie and Mick rave on about how much they miss her, yet they don't allow her to be a studio only member baffles me.. It's also quite evident that Lindsey has some issues with her. I watched a recent interview where he says that the lack of Christine is beneficial for him because he gets to play more guitar.

I believe that the issue here lies with Lindsey for not being flexible and welcoming (or a team player in general), Stevie and John for nodding their heads and going along with what Lindsey says and Mick for not leading the band. This interview with Christine proves that after nearly 10 years after being refused access to her band, she's pissed off.

I have yet to read one comment that makes mention of the fact that Christine began to have an immense fear of flying and that's why she stopped.

Yes, she's 70 years old. Let her rest if she wants. And Stevie herself has said they are not as close as they once were. It's not such a biggie, people move on, people are busy, Christine is cloistered in her own world, Stevie is doing her own thing.........

"Christine, just like anybody, deserves to do whatever the hell she wants," said Mick.

Christine could easily be a studio member of FM - Stevie, and I love her with all my heart, has such a huge ego these days and is so out of touch with reality. Now that all these reporters and fans call her "iconic," "legendary," and "historical" - she's lost even more of her humility lol. I know she's always been the main pull for the Mac, but now it's on another level. The public is realizing that she's getting older and more and more people are beginning to appreciate what she's done for rock and roll...it's sad to see Stevie get older, but it comes for all of us. Joan Rivers said, "Age is the one mountain you can't climb."

I think everyone would welcome Chris back, if Stevie and Lindsey could get over their own opinions.

There is something that we the public dont know y chris does not want this anymore other than excuses that have been told to us(the fans).she definitely has burnt her bridges and is all done. thank you chris for all those beautiful songs over the yrs. Have a happy retirement u deserve it and u do not have explain y. its ok

I can't stand it when Stevie refers to herself in the 3-rd person and she does it more and more as time goes by - like a demented Norma Desmond. Perhaps Stevie just isn't inspired and doesn't have the songs anymore. To me, her worst-ever are WELCOME TO THE ROOM, SARA; ONE MORE BIG TIME ROCK AND ROLL STAR; I CAN'T WAIT; THE NIGHTMARE; DESERT ANGEL and JANE - all of these songs are abominations that make me CRINGE over the terrible lyrics and vocals. These are the songs that created "underground" Stevie fans. Get real, Stevie - you need honest criticism and you need FLEETWOOD MAC to achieve greatness - have you any left?

Is SOLDIER'S ANGEL good? Hmmm. At least it's not DESERT ANGEL. But there are so many awkward moments, cliches, poor rhyme schemes and bad word choices - "I float through the hosss-pit-alls"/Their bravery leaves me spellbound" - one wonders how much cognitive damage Stevie suffered from her drug years. In any case, Stevie's lyrics need serious editing, and the bitchy, egotistical "you wouldn't say that to Bob Dylan" (who I hate btw) line she uses against Lindsey in DESINY RULES just shows her combo of ignorance and arrogance. At this point, Lindsey's working on another level - if she can't appreciate it, he should just ditch her. She's seems not very appreciative of what he did for her and thinks that Dave Stewart cares more and understands her more. She's very, very wrong.

Another gripe I have with Stevie is her bad judgement with her own songs. She thought SECRET LOVE was a forgotten masterpiece. WRONG! It was just a ditty she coughed up on cocaine - it's very simple and underdeveloped. Lindsey might have made it into something but it's a pretty bland, lousy song that has a pretty melody initially, but goes nowhere musically or lyrically. The real gem is SPACE NEEDLE. That's a long, dark, complex song with multiple meanings. Why wasn't that on the record? Why? Because Stevie's done. She's given up, has no ambition, writes conservative songs and is totally uninteresting. She's not even interested in the other Stevie who actually used her talent. FLEETWOOD MAC calls and Stevie says, "sorry." Lindsey could turn SPACE NEEDLE into a new masterpiece but Stevie's too preoccupied with referring to herself as third-person "Stevie" to care.

Space Needle is her last known dark masterpiece. It's chilling, meaningful, and lyrically appropriate. I have no idea why it couldn't be fixed up and arranged and re-recorded. A lot of Stevie fans love Space Needle and Have No Heart and both are very different. Stevie's songs just don't seem to have much meaning anymore. It seemed like "In Your Dreams" she chose a few topics (Hurricane Katrina, the War in Iraq, etc) and just wrote very literally about them. I loved Dave Stewart with her, but she really has never sounded more produced than she did on IYD. Although listening to the center-channel mixes of SYW you realize how auto-tuned Stevie's voice was. Point being, she has grown more and more out of touch and has gotten so "big" that she seemingly doesn't remember what made her so big. Stevie is known to "enhance" the truth and when she says that she's always stayed dedicated to Fleetwood Mac...well, that's not true. Lindsey himself said that they rarely saw her because she was always "doing her solo thing" - lots of underlying animosity.

I am tired of waiting for the documentary of IYD to be released.Not to mention that it was edited from the original length. Will Stevie give permission for a book to be written about her career, kinda like the book> My Life and Times in Fleetwood Mac,and the newest rumour is a possible release of the B&N album !!! It would be great if something like this would happen, as opposed to a re-release (boring) of Rumours. I have always hoped that a reality show for Stevie would happen....like Gene Simmons had. Stevie had mentioned during either the WH or RAL era that she had a book that would come out, that was well over twenty years ago ...nothing yet. Is there a possibility that the reason in the delay of IYD documentary is because a IYD concert will be part of the release? As a fan from the very beginning I have to laugh, because every time Stevie puts out a cd she says...it's her best work. Why didn't Space Needle & Have No Heart be put on an official release? These were better songs than some songs on IYD. I feel like she just goes through the motions, not really thinking of what her fans would like. I say this because my daughter who grew up hearing and seeing Stevie, really loved everthing she did, but now says she is boring. I was crushed when she said this....but now I wonder.

I wouldn't say she's 'boring' I would say that the gap between her last and current albums (Trouble in Shangri-La and In Your Dreams) was huge (10 years) so maybe she lost touch a little bit. Here's hoping that with The Mac touring next year, she'll get her mojo back.

It's hard comparing TISL to IYD since both are from different times. TISL was uneven, partially due to so many producers being on it; IYD was much more fluid. However, people either love IYD or they don't. I think it's Stevie's best album, but I wish it would have been a bit darker and 'witchy.'

I think it is great that we can all have opinions that shoot from the hip as opposed to being ugly. It is true my daughter did say Stevie was boring...she misses the Frizzy hair, wild dancing during Stand Back , And I said to her do you think I can move around like I used to when I was in my 30's NO!I have a question for all who will answer this.

How many of us would like to see a reality showof Stevie ? I guess everyone has heard that Cindy Lauper has one coming up in I believe in a matter of days? I thought to myself..it would be so cool if Stevie did something like that,not to mention the book, the release of BN on a pro release cd and a pro release of an IYD concert , and PLEASE hurry up and release the IYD documentary !!! I really would love to hear feedback on everyone's wish list for what they would like from Stevie !I really don't think I'm asking for too much ...I've been a fan of the Mac since 1975 and that should tell ya I'm getting old !Happy New Year to everyone !

You know some of these comments about Stevie with the huge ego really make me cringe. Since when does Stevie have to bow down to any of you about what she sings, how she sings it, and what she writes lyric-wise? Should be damn lucky we still have her around with the well-documented life she has lead. Are we really being this uptight about her music now? Get over it!

Then go ahead and cringe. This idea that Stevie's a near-deity who shouldn't be criticized isn't doing her any favors - it just isolates her inside a bubble and makes her less human. For a longtime superstar, I think Stevie's done fairly well staying grounded, but that doesn't mean she isn't sometimes comically narcissistic. She's particularly unsuited to political subject matter because she sees everything through an "I I I me me me" lens and she won't alter her words because she has a "first thought, best thought" orthodoxy about her writing, which is really a kind of laziness. That said, she's a great artist and I'm a huge, longtime fan, but at 47 I don't see her the same way as I did at 16. That's life.

Wow ! Do I feel sorry for the person that commented about the Stevie fans being able to shoot from the hip being able to say what they wanted to say. Stevie is a talented person no doubt, but if we were all honest, none of us remain the same, thoughts,feelings etc. Stevie does come off somtimes with a big ego, but because of her celebrity no one dares say what they feel, maybe with the exception of the older fans who have been there from the beginning. For the fans who think she is a goddess..she isn't, she is a very talented over the top song writer. I have always thought where would any celebrity be without their fans, if they are movie stars, we buy the movie tickets, rock stars..we buy the cd's , T-shirts,concert tickets etc. The fans are the ones that give any/all celebrities the lifestyles they enjoy or at least 90% without us they wouldn't be where they are, and sometimes they really do forget how the fame came to them. ....just being honest !

Committing to a tour would be massive - she hasn't toured in so long & its a grueling schedule. But would be lovely if she could be persuaded to guest perform at the final couple of UK shows....c'mon Chris!

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Christine was a guest on the Ken Bruce radio program on BBC Radio 2 and was featured each morning between Oct 7th and 11th choosing the "Tracks of My Years". Each day included a short interview clip with Christine along with her track choice and why. During the last day Christine revealed that she's currently working on new material and hopefully a forthcoming solo album saying its a return to her musical sound of the 70's.